Welcome to Liskeard School & Community College, Cornwall

The Governing Body

There should be twenty governors in our Governing Body. These are made up of Staff Governors including the Head Teacher; Local Authority and Community Governors who are appointed; and Parent Governors who are elected by the parents. The Chair of Governors is Davina Finch.

Liskeard School and Community College is part of the South East Cornwall Multi Academy Regional Trust (SMART). The SMART Trust Board are the trustees, directors and governors of SMART and to help exercise their responsibilities at the Academy level they have delegated certain activities to the Local Governing Committee of Liskeard School.

The Role of a Governor

A Governor is essentially a “critical friend” of the school. Governors do not generally make school policy, though no major change to the nature of the school could be made without the consent of the Governing Body. Rather, they look at school policy and practice, can recommend modification or change, and monitor the work of the school. They also have many opportunities to show support or get involved.

The current legislation requires all Governors to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The school will arrange this for you, and pay the fee, but you will be asked to do some form-filling and produce identity documents.

Commitment

All Governors are volunteers; they have some legal obligations and it is hoped that they will also wish to show a supportive interest in many aspects of school life. The Governors meet once a term as a Full Governing Body (FGB). The FGB is divided into two committees, Teaching and Learning and Finance and Premises Resources. Each governor is on one of these committees and each committee meets twice a term. Governors are required to attend all these evening meetings, or send a reason and apology if they cannot. There will usually be paperwork, sent out in advance, which Governors are required to read.

Governors are also paired with a curriculum department or area of special activity. They are asked to form links with the teachers and take a supportive role.

Governors are encouraged to attend some of the school’s special events.

More experienced Governors are asked to join small working parties with specific responsibilities e.g. the Disciplinary Committee, Staff Appointments and the Policy Working Group. All of these groups have the input of a member of staff from the school’s Senior Leadership Team.

All the essential meetings are held in the evenings but it is helpful if Governors can occasionally attend during the day.

Confidentiality

From time to time Governors are trusted with confidential information.

Training and Support

New Governors are paired with a more experienced one who will be their mentor. The Local Authority currently provides two separate free day courses for new Governors. The school arranges several training sessions for its governors, usually a few evenings and one Saturday during the year. All Governors are given a comprehensive Handbook.

To sum up: Governors give their time for free, have significant responsibilities, have to do quite a lot of reading – but most of all do a very important and rewarding job for the school.

There are many opportunities for parents to find out about how well their son or daughter is progressing and about the ways in which they can support their child’s learning. These include parents' evenings and termly Progress Reports, but we also actively encourage parents to directly contact individual teachers for further information and guidance (see staff contacts).

A typical reporting cycle for Year 7 is as follows:

October - Parents’ evening with personal tutor

December - Progress Check 1 sent home

February - Progress Check 2 sent home

March - Parents’ evening with subject teachers - teachers or tutors may request to see you or you can request to see a particular teacher

June - Progress Check 3 sent home

Monitoring and Reporting Progress

Grading System

From September 2015, the Government introduced a new grading system for GCSEs. Liskeard School and Community College use this new grading system for all years from this time (except for the students in Years 10 and 11, who are completing the legacy GCSEs). The new grading system is based on a number system from 0 to 9. We have broken these numbered grades into three parts to make our own assessment and reporting more accurate and precise as follows:

.2 = just into a grade

.5 = secure and solidly working at this grade

.8 = showing elements of the grade above

This new system is not exactly equivalent to previous systems but the below table outlines the approximate equivalency:

Target Setting

All students in Years 7 to 11 are set targets in each of their subjects. These targets are ambitious but achievable and are generated for each student based on students’ scores in the national tests at the end of Year 6 in English and maths. The targets are designed to enable students to make good progress in their learning and achievement over their five years at secondary school. The chart below shows broadly how this is calculated. Where students make even better progress than their target along the way, teachers will raise their targets to enable them to continue to aim high and achieve their full potential. In Years 7 to 9, these progress targets will be broken down into yearly targets. In Years 10 and 11, students will be given a target for the end of the Key Stage – for their GCSEs at the end of year 11.

Reporting Progress to Parents

Throughout the year, teachers submit assessment data on each student. This data is reported back to parents through Progress Checks. Every student will receive three Progress Checks every academic year. In addition to these reports, each year group has their own Parents’ Evening where parents are invited into school to meet with their child’s subject teachers to discuss their progress. The dates of the parents’ evenings and when Progress Checks will be published can be found on the school’s calendar.

The Progress Checks show students’ current and forecast (predicted) grades against their target grades. The forecast grade will be coloured to highlight progress and a next step target will summarise the key knowledge and/or skill that needs to be mastered in order to enable that student to progress to the next grade.

Students’ attitudes to their learning is also reported on every Progress Check. Teachers score students on a scale of 1 to 4 on their application and organisation as follows:

1.

Attitude to Learning

Excellent

Application

Exceptional, positive approach to lessons. Determined to learn and pushes him or herself to achieve to best of ability. Completed homework shows high levels of independence and motivation. Keen to learn at all times.

Organisation

Arrives on time to lessons and ready to learn. Fully equipped for lessons. Always meets homework deadlines.

2.

Attitude to Learning

Good

Application

Attentive and ready to learn. Work is normally completed to a high standard. Completed homework shows commitment and some independent skills. Mostly keen to learn.

Organisation

Nearly always on time to lessons and ready. Almost always has correct equipment. Nearly always meets homework deadlines.

3.

Attitude to Learning

Satisfactory

Application

Attentive when prompted. Work is completed to a reasonable standard. Completed homework shows minimal effort and there is a need for more effort. Prepared to learn.

Organisation

Usually on time to lessons. Normally has most equipment. Meets homework deadlines often but not on occasion.

4.

Attitude to Learning

Poor

Application

Direct requests for attentiveness often required. Work is sometimes completed to a low personal standard. Homework reflects some lack of commitment and self-motivation. Too frequently made to learn.

Organisation

Late to lessons on occasion. Personal organisation of equipment and books may be a concern. Homework often not completed on time.

5.

Attitude to Learning

Serious Concern

Application

Satisfactory levels of commitment and motivation are rarely evident. Work is often incomplete or of a low personal standard. Sees learning as something forced upon them. Refuses to learn at times.

In 2016 the Government introduced a new GCSE accountability measure known as Progress 8 (P8). This is a score based on how well the students do in relation to what was expected of them in 8 of their subjects. (Expectations are based on prior attainment at the end of Year 6.) For example, if a student was expected to get 8 grade 6s at GCSE, but achieved 8 grade 7s, then they would receive a P8 score of +1 (1 grade better than expected on average). Likewise, if they achieved 8 grade 5s their score would be -1.

The 8 subjects that are used to calculate the P8 score are as follows:

English and Maths GCSEs

3 of the following GCSEs: Science, Spanish, French, History and Geography

Any other 3 subjects

*Just under 20% of students didn’t take 8 subjects because they either joined the school late e.g. in Year 11 or because we didn’t feel it was in their best interest. Our progress 8 score for students who did take 8 subjects was +0.06 and their Attainment 8 score was 4.7.

Celebrating the achievements, attributes and contributions of Liskeard students is part of the daily routine. Students receive merits for their hard work and positive contributions. Students of the Week are recognised by all subjects and each year group. The Headteacher selects a Student of the Month from all those who are nominated by staff. Celebration assemblies take place at the end of each term and certificates for achievements such as excellent attendance and completion of Citizenship Awards are given out regularly.

The celebration highlight of the year, however, is our Awards Evening. Students from Years 7- 13 are nominated for awards and invited with their families to the prestigious evening event.

Awards include a Head Teacher Award, Governors’ Award, Community Award and awards from each faculty and Head of Year.

Links

Liskeard School & Community College is a member of SMART (South East Cornwall Multi Academy Regional Trust). SMART is an exempt charity and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with company number 7542166. The registered office is at saltash.net Community School, Wearde Road, Saltash, Cornwall. PL12 4AY. Tel: 01752 843715.